Phase shifter



June 8, 1954 w. G. PROCTOR 2,680,809

' PHASE SHIFTER Original Filed Feb. 2'7, 1945 FIG. I

INVENTOR.

WARREN G. PROCTOR Affomey Patented June 8, 1954 PHASE SHIFTER Warren G. Proctor, Boston, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of War Original application February 27, 1945, Serial No.

580,020. Divided and this application November 17, 1950, Serial N 0. 204,355

1 Claim. 1

The present application is a division of my copending application for Geometrical Computer filed February 27, 1945, Serial No. 580,020, and issued on June 10, 1952, as Patent No. 2,600,264.

The present invention relates in general to electrical apparatus and more specifically to an electrical computingcircuit for the solution of triangles especially with reference to a circuit for shifting the phase of an alternating current.

In many types of electrical apparatus used for range finding or gun directing, a method is desirable whereby triangles may be solved electrically. A special case of this problem is the solution of right triangles, and in particular the determination of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle, being given the lengths of the two sides.

A common method of electrically solving this problem is to provide two alternating current voltages, which are proportional respectively to the lengths of the two given sides of the triangle. One of these voltages is then shifted in phase by 90 and the two voltages are then applied to some type of summing device, the output of which is proportional to the peak amplitude of the vector sum of the two quadrature voltages, and hence proportional to the hypotenuse of the right triangle.

Former computers have employed two coils displaced 90" in space in some type of phase shifting device using rotating coils. One object of the present invention therefore is to produce this phase shift statically, thus conserving space and reducing the complexity of the phase shifting device.

One important problem in any type of phase shifting device is the elimination of frequency sensitivity. In other words, both the phase shift and the output amplitude of the device must be kept relatively independent of the frequency of the incoming alternating current wave. Since a complete 90 phase shift is extremely diiilcult to obtain, some method should also be provided to compensate for this incomplete phase shift since it introduces an error in the magnitude of the output of the summing device. Other objects of thepresent invention, therefore, are to provide means whereby both the phase shift and the gain of the phase shifting device will be kept constant, and means to compensate for the error introduced by incomplete phase shift.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a harmonic-free constant amplitude alternating current source, from which are taken lengths of the two known sides of the triangle. One of these voltages is fed to a phase shifter consisting of a differentiator and an integrator so connected that the combined gain of the two is relatively independent of variations in frequency of applied voltage and the output is shifted approximately in phase with respect to the input. This output is fed through a push-pull arrangement to two detectors, while the other output from the alternating current source is fed to the same two detectors through a parallel arrangement. The output of these detectors is then combined in such a Way that the resultant voltage is proportional to the arithmetic mean of the two detector input voltages. This latter arrangement compensates for incomplete phase shift, and the direct current voltage produced is then proportional to the length of the unknown side of the triangle being solved.

For a further understanding of this invention together with other objects and features thereof, reference is had to the following detailed description taken in connection wtih the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of one form of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a vector diagram showing phase relationships of some of the voltages present in the apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. l of the drawings, there is provided across terminals i0 and H a constant amplitude alternating current source, the output of which is free from harmonics of the fundamental frequency. This output is connected to two potentiometers, l2 and I4, each of which has in series with it a variable resistor, It and i3, respectively. The variable tap of potentiometer i2 is connected to the center tap A of the secondary of coupling transformer 20. The variable tap of potentiom eter I4 is connected to the input circuits of the two phase shifting triodes, 22 and 24. The input circuit of triode 22 is an integrator composed of resistor 25 and capacitor 26, the latter being connected to the plate of triode 22 rather than to ground, thus introducing a certain amount of negative feedback into the stage.

The input circuit of triode 24 is a diiferentiator composed of capacitor 2'! and resistor 28, the latter being coupled through capacitor 29 to the plate of triode 24, thus introducing negative feedback into this stage. Capacitor 29 is large enough to be a very low impedance to alternating current of the frequency used, and serves to block the two outputs proportional respectively to the 56 D.C. plate voltage of triode 24 from its grid,

The plates of triodes 22 and 24 are connected respectively to the two ends of the primary of coupling transformer 26, the center tap oi the primary being connected to the plate supply voltage. Resistor 30 serves as a grid leak for triode 2 thus preventing the grid of this triode from being in a floating condition.

The two ends of the secondary of coupling transformer are connected respectively to the grids of triodes 32 and 3 4, which are connected as cathode followers. The outputs of triodes 32 and 34 are connected throughcoupling capacitors 35 and 3% to the plates or diode detectors 38 and 40, respectively. Averaging resistors Al and 42 are so connected that the direct voltage present at point B-isthearit-hmetic' mean of the output voltages of the two diodesywhich in turn are proportional respectively to the total inputs to the two cathode follower triodes.

When the circuit of Fig. 1 is in operation, the variable tap of potentiometerlZ is adjusted so that the voltage applied to' the center tap of the secondary of transformer20 is proportionalto the length of one known side of the triangle" to be solved. Because of the center tapa'rrang'ement this voltage is fed equally and in the same phase to the grids of the'two cathode follower triodes'32 and 34.

Similarly, the variabletap of potentiometer I4 is adjusted so that the voltageapplied to' the input circuits or the phase shifting triodes 22 and 2% is proportional to the length of the other known side of the triangle to be solved. Because of the constants of the integrator input circuit consisting of resistor 25 and capatitorii'the current through this circuitis' siihstantially'in phase with the applied voltage; however, the voltage across capacitor'26 isapplied to the grid of tricde 22, and this voltage lags the'current in the circuit by 90, andhence'lags'the applied voltage by approximately the same amount.

Similarly, the constants of thadifferentiator input circuit, consisting of capacitors? and resistor 28, cause the current through it'tolead the applied voltage by approximately 90. The L voltage across resistor 28 is applied'to" the grid of triode 24, and this"voltage 'is in"phase"with the current, and hence leadsthe'appliedyoltage by approximately 90. Because "of "these phase shifts, the two 180 out of phase with'each other" and hence operate push-pull, the two push pull output voltages each being approximately 90 out ofphase with the input voltage to the phase shift circuit, one leading and one lagging.

These push-pull voltages are fedthrough' coupling transformer 20, so that'they appear in push-pull on the grids of triodes 32"and'34. At the same time the voltage from the variable tap of potentiometer i2 is present on'thegrids of these triodes, and it is in'quadrature with both of the push-pull voltages. The resultant voltage on each grid, therefore, is the'vector sum of the two quadrature voltages, and hence proportional to the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle to be solved. Since triodes 32 and 34 are identical, their outputs, neglecting the "effect of incomplete phase shift, will be equal. These outputs are fed to identical diode rectifiers 38 and 40, the outputs of which are respectively equal to the peak values of the inputs applied from triodes 32 and 34. The outputs of diodes 38 and 40 are combined through'resistors 4i and 42 in such a manner that the voltage present at point B is'equal to the arithmetic mean of the two diode outputs and again is proportional to the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle being solved.

By properly choosing the turns ratio of coupling transformer 20 and the gain of triodes 22 and 24, the constant of proportionality between the length of the one known side of the triangle and the magnitude of the push-pull voltage fed to the grids of triodes 32 and as can be made approximately equal to the constant of proportionality between the length of the other known side of the triangle and the magnitude of the voltage fed tothe grids of the same two triodes through the center tap of the secondary of coupling transformer 20. Minor adjustments to make these constants more nearly equal can be made by varying the resistance or calibrating resistors 16 and I8.

It can be shown by circuit analysis that the gain of the integrator circuit including triode 22, resistor 25, and capacitor 26 is roughly inversely proportional to frequency, while the gain of the difierentiator circuit including'triode-l i, capacitor 21, and resistor 28 is roughly directly proportional to frequency. Asa result, the combined output of these triodes, which flows in the primary of transformer 20, is substantially in dependent of frequency variations of the input signal. It can further be shown that'ii "we choose as a nominal frequency that frequency at which the theoretical gain of the integrator circult and the difierentiator circuit are equal, then variations of frequency of the order of ten'per cent above'and below this nominal frequency will cause variations in output of the order oi'only one-half per cent.

Referring next to Fig. 2, we see'a vector'diagram of several of the voltages present in the circuit. Vector R represents the alternating voltage fed through the center tap ofthe's'econdary of transformer-20 to the grids of triodes 32 and 34. Vectors Hand H represent the pushpull voltages fed to the same grids. If the phase shift of the integrator'and difierentiator circuits were exactly H and H would be perpendicular to R. However, the-actual phase shift is always somewhat less than 90, the actual amount varying with frequency. Therefore H and H are shown not perpendicular to 'R, the

amount of divergence from the-perpendicular being exaggerated however for ease of illustration. Vectors E and E are the resultant voltages present on the grids of triodes 82 'and 34.

Since a cathodefollower stage changes only the magnitude and not the phase of a voltage fed through it, these same vectors may represent the voltagesfed to thetwo detector diodes lia -and 40. The output of these diodes depends-noton the phase but only on the magnitude of the input to them, and therefore their D.-C. output magnitudes may be represented by the lengths of E and E1. The DEC. output at pointB-as has been explained is the arithmetic mean "or the detector outputs, and its magnitude is shown by This can be seen tobe' approximately equal in magnitude to E", which is what the'D.'-C. output at B would have been if the phaseshift had been exactly 90. The double detector therefore can be seen to compensate for errors introduced by incomplete phase shift.

While there has been descrilrned-whatds at present considered a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and. that values of circuit constants given in the figures are illustrative only. It is aimed in the appended claim to cover all such changes as fall within the true scope of the invention.

What I claim to have invented is:

A static phase-shift circuit, comprising a source of electrical sine wave energy, a first triode amplifier, a first resistor, a first capacitor, said first resistor being connected between said source of energy and the control grid of said first triode amplifier, said first capacitor being connected between the control grid and the anode of said first triode amplifier, said first resistor and said first capacitor forming an integrating circuit, a second triode amplifier, a second capacitor connected between the control grid of said second triode amplifier and said source of energy, a third capacitor connected to the anode of said second triode amplifier, a second resistor connected between the control grid of said second triode amplifier and said third capacitor, said second resistor being thus connected to the anode of said second triode amplifier through said third capacitor, said second capacitor and said second resistor forming a differentiating circuit, load means interconnecting the anodes of said first and second triode amplifiers, and impedance means connected between the cathodes of/ said first and second triode amplifiers and ground.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,099,536 Scherbatskoy et a1. Nov. 16, 1937 2,174,166 Plebanski Sept. 26, 1939 2,256,538 Alford Sept. 23, 1941 2,279,506 Reid Apr. 4, 1942 2,282,105 Tunick May 5, 1942 2,318,934 Evans May 11, 1943 2,333,502 Wickham Nov. 2, 1943 2,454,426 Beckwith Nov. 23, 1948 

